It’s always cool when music you’ve liked for a really long time hits mainstream. It gets used on a commercial or in a movie trailer or played at a sporting event, and when the person next to you says, “Wow! What is that song?” you can just tell them. That happened several times with E.S. Posthumus, and every time it was awesome introducing somebody to new music. (And if you are a fan of grand, cinematic-style music and haven’t checked out E.S. Posthumus yet – well, you’re missing out.)

I don’t have a whole lot of interest in seeing the new movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but the commercials playing on TV are playing a great track off The Cinematic Orchestra’s album Ma Fleur called To Build A Home. You should probably just go ahead and buy it now.

It seems Christmas comes earlier every year, doesn’t it? Well fight back! Shortly after Halloween last year, I popped in to the Cosi on Pennsylvania Avenue in Capital Hill to grab some lunch after a meeting. I was irked to hear “Silver Bells” and “Carol of the Bells” and “Jingle Bell Rock” pumping through the sound system. No, I don’t dislike bells, nor carols, but playing holiday tunes anytime before Thanksgiving is a strict faux pas in my world.

After venting on IRC to a friend of mine who happens to work for the company, she suggested I write a comment on their web site. She promised they read them regularly. And so I did, more out of humor than anything else.

To my surprise, I received a prompt reply, apologizing for the early onslaught of merry tunes. I was told that some overzealous soul had switched the restaurants nationwide tunes early, and that now that they were in place the switch couldn’t be undone. I was assured, however, that they would not make the same mistake in 2009. The response seemed a bit fabricated, but the management vagaries of massive corporate chaindom are beyond my ken, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Now we’re fast approaching the regular start of the insanity, and I have made a personal vow to stay vigilant on that Cosi I frequent for lunch. Whether they really will hold the music until after Thanksgiving remains to be seen, but even if not, it occurs to me that the ever-expanding breadth of the holidays is at least partially within our control. It takes only a moment to send a note to an online feedback form – maybe if we each sent one, we could make a difference on something mundane.